Over the last few days, rumors about the release dates for two of Square Enix's most anticipated games have been swirling around the internet. The source, it seems, was an internal document indicating that Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy XV would hit retail shelves sometime in 2014. Unfortunately, Square Enix has successfully deflated the rumor.

"We're aware an internal document has been in circulation listing release dates for select Square Enix titles," a representative said in an email to The Escapist. "This information contained in this document is inaccurate and features placeholder timing."

"Specifically," the message continues, "no announcement has been made to date for Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy XV - their projected release window remains to be advised."

It's important to note that Square Enix didn't deny the authenticity of these leaked memos. So, even though the documents utilized "placeholder timing," it would be strange for a developer to use dates that are wildly different from the company's internal expectations.

Also, in the case of Kingdom Hearts, a 2014 release date has been tossed around multiple times. Haley Joel Osment, the voice of Sora, even used the word summer in an interview with zap2it.com. Though, he did cover his bases by saying "summer or later," which is appropriately vague.

That being said, Square Enix wants to take its time with these games, and audience expectations are difficult to manage. I, for one, would rather wait for a solid release date, than deal with ongoing delays or never ending patches (I'm looking at you, EA).

I already knew Kingdom Hearts 3 wasn't gonna be coming out this year, because if you follow the Kingdom Hearts news you'll know that the Kingdom Hearts team is working more on FF XV than III. Nomura said that the rest of the team will go back to Kingdom Hearts III once FF XV is out. If anything I'd guess wait until 2016 for Kingdom Hearts 3, and in the meantime Kingdom Hearts II.5 comes out later this year.

Yeah, both of these games are being made with a lot of the same talent, so I figured any 2014 dates would be ambitious to say the least. I'm concerned about XV, though; it's already been in production for years as Versus and games with that kind of production history do no usually yield good results. But I was surprised Metal Gear Rising Revengeance turned out to be as good as it was, so there is at least a precedent that it can still turn out okay.

Sheo_Dagana:Yeah, both of these games are being made with a lot of the same talent, so I figured any 2014 dates would be ambitious to say the least. I'm concerned about XV, though; it's already been in production for years as Versus and games with that kind of production history do no usually yield good results. But I was surprised Metal Gear Rising Revengeance turned out to be as good as it was, so there is at least a precedent that it can still turn out okay.

Well it's not the first time big games are stuck in development hell. Pikmin 3 was originally announced for the Nintendo Wii back in 2008, but was then moved to the Wii U in 2011, and didn't come out until last year. I do know that Versus XIII actually was entirely scrapped at one point and the entire thing was rebuilt again, the reason was that Nomura didn't like it...yeah I wish it wasn't a petty reason like that. We'll see how XV goes I guess, I must say I'm quite interested in it, and A Realm Reborn is pretty good too so there is hope.

malevolentcafe:Than what was the bloody point of announcing them at the reveal?

Welp, that delays my PS4 purchase indefinitely.

They announced Kingdom Hearts III because they were literally getting tired of the question, "Are you guys working on Kingdom Hearts III?" They wanted to let fans know that yes, the game is in the cards and it will be made, but we are not currently actively working on it, so stop asking. It's the same mindset that went into announcing Mirror's Edge 2.

I still say 2015 for KH III. We haven't gone a year without a KH release of some sorts since 06, and with the last ones being remixed, and I doubt 3D would be posted all by itself unless it was just a side project, then the only thing left is III. So I expect both at least by next year. I just hope Nomura isn't Satan and actually spreads the release of the two far enough out to give people time to beat one before the other is out.

I'd be willing to wait until Summer 2015 as long as the quality of the game holds up to the first two games. I'm pretty sure that they are aware that rushing the game we have been waiting 10 years for is a great way to ruin a lot of credibility - just take a look at Duke Nukem.

Hmmm... Yeah, I'm pretty sure in 2016 is when KHIII would be getting the most amount of info about said game... Whoever thought this game would come out ON THE SAME YEAR as II.5? (Logic: it must have been illusive this time...)

Anyway, they would have been better off telling people beforehand that both of those game's release dates would be "TBA" instead of just using a random year such as "2014" as a so-called placeholder... Mistakes like that can cause some hefty rumors to start up... (and not the neutral ones...)

I think any reasonable fan of Kingdom Hearts knew they wouldn't release III this year. It goes completely against the yearly release formula, and not to mention makes no sense to release two KH games within the same year.

Unless there's another game planned that they haven't announced yet, which is very unlikely, the earliest we'll get KH3 is in 2015. I guess that's why I was surprised that the Escapist put KH3 in their top anticipated games for 2014.

Honestly, I think even a 2015 release is a bit too optimistic to hope for, especially if you want to wait for the localized version, which most people would I imagine. They have to finish FFXV first anyway.

That being said, Square Enix wants to take its time with these games, and audience expectations are difficult to manage. I, for one, would rather wait for a solid release date, than deal with ongoing delays or never ending patches (I'm looking at you, EA).

I will always side with this. It leads to quality. My favourite example will always be Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. There was a demo and a release date. The demo sucked and the release date came and went. Then the game finally came out and it was fantastic. I'm hoping for that with most games.

(For the record I would be totally OK with waiting a while for KHIII if we got a KH fighter in the meantime, like what Dissidia was originally going to be.)

curious...what the hell was dissidia originally supposed to be like? because by FAR that game is my favorite fighting-action rpg that I've ever played, I can't get enough of it while other fighter games I usually put down in the first 20 minutes.

OT: They'll come out when they come, but if these games are even half the game I'm expecting, they are both probably system sellers for me on the ps4, but I'll have to wait until I see more about them when they are released.

(For the record I would be totally OK with waiting a while for KHIII if we got a KH fighter in the meantime, like what Dissidia was originally going to be.)

curious...what the hell was dissidia originally supposed to be like? because by FAR that game is my favorite fighting-action rpg that I've ever played, I can't get enough of it while other fighter games I usually put down in the first 20 minutes.

OT: They'll come out when they come, but if these games are even half the game I'm expecting, they are both probably system sellers for me on the ps4, but I'll have to wait until I see more about them when they are released.

Last I heard both were getting XBone releases. But yeah, if these games end up as strong as I hope they are and the PS4 actually gets some more games then I might consider buying a console this generation.

With that said, I wonder what the opportunity cost is of not releasing a PC version of KH3 and FFXV.

(For the record I would be totally OK with waiting a while for KHIII if we got a KH fighter in the meantime, like what Dissidia was originally going to be.)

curious...what the hell was dissidia originally supposed to be like? because by FAR that game is my favorite fighting-action rpg that I've ever played, I can't get enough of it while other fighter games I usually put down in the first 20 minutes.

OT: They'll come out when they come, but if these games are even half the game I'm expecting, they are both probably system sellers for me on the ps4, but I'll have to wait until I see more about them when they are released.

Last I heard both were getting XBone releases. But yeah, if these games end up as strong as I hope they are and the PS4 actually gets some more games then I might consider buying a console this generation.

With that said, I wonder what the opportunity cost is of not releasing a PC version of KH3 and FFXV.

yeah probably, but the xbone is pretty much out of the equation for me as of this point, there aren't any exclusives on it that I want, I don't like microsoft enough as it is, and the ps4 is still cheaper and better at this point, and I do 95% of my gaming on my pc so if there is a console that I wanna get, it will probably be the ps4.

but yeah, don't even mention that last part, I drool at the thought of getting those on pc and letting people tweak/mod it to godlike levels.

FF 15 will probably be out in 2015, and it will probably be great. Unfortunately "great" doesn't really justify almost a decade of production. For it to earn that development time schedule the heavens would have to open, the angels would have to sing, and FF15 would have to descend from on high with the wings of an angel.

As for KH3, it hasn't even started production yet, so I look forward to buying it for my great grand children sometime in the year 2076.

Fox12:FF 15 will probably be out in 2015, and it will probably be great. Unfortunately "great" doesn't really justify almost a decade of production. For it to earn that development time schedule the heavens would have to open, the angels would have to sing, and FF15 would have to descend from on high with the wings of an angel.

As for KH3, it hasn't even started production yet, so I look forward to buying it for my great grand children sometime in the year 2076.

actually it has started production, well... it has started preproduction, any more than that is being handled by the people who made the handheld games.

Fox12:FF 15 will probably be out in 2015, and it will probably be great. Unfortunately "great" doesn't really justify almost a decade of production. For it to earn that development time schedule the heavens would have to open, the angels would have to sing, and FF15 would have to descend from on high with the wings of an angel.

As for KH3, it hasn't even started production yet, so I look forward to buying it for my great grand children sometime in the year 2076.

actually it has started production, well... it has started preproduction, any more than that is being handled by the people who made the handheld games.

That's something at least.

*Sigh*

Being a Nomura fan is suffering. Oh well, at least their not sitting on their hands I suppose.

Considering that when the KH3 teaser trailer was released last year it came with a statement saying, "This video is simply here to show off that we just added the theme park ride mechanic into the game. Most of the game's mechanics are not yet complete," this does not surprise me at all. The game has barely even been made yet, people!

Also, while much farther along, FFXV does not have a release date either, and KH3 was said to be coming way after FF. If we look at the last major FF game release dates, SquareEnix typically gives their customers a good ~9-12 months to wait after a date has been announced.